WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER

Brian Duff, film critic for FILMINK magazine, described J. Harkness as “a man ahead of his time”. Born in Penrith, New South Wales, Australia; a child of a Housing Commission estate, J developed, at young age, a serious love of poetry. As one critic for DB Magazine once noted, “Harkness’ work stems very much from the cinema as poetry genre …” While still in primary school, Harkness won a scholarship to a prestigious private school, which was “worth more than his father earned per annum driving buses”. Upon completing high school, Harkness briefly pursued a professional career in journalism and secured a position with the NSW Newspaper, The Advocate. He was considered something of a prodigy in creative writing but soon decided he was unable, “in good conscience”, to call journalism creative writing. He then relocated to Adelaide, to attend Flinders University of South Australia, studying Drama and Film, which led to his undertaking a Masters Degree in these disciplines. In between his studies, Harkness completed more than 20 short films, enjoying numerous festival successes and awards. He also continued to hone his craft by directing commercials and documentaries and it was at this time that he conceived the feature film, Shot Of Love. As Billy Baxter observed in FILMINK, “While Harkness won’t blow his own horn, others gladly will.” Cameron Miller, CEO of Verdict Pictures, says “When I first saw Shot Of Love, I was blown away by the talent of J. Harkness. Watch for big things in the future from him.” J has received a myriad of awards and major festival selections for his work and achievements. Birthday is the second feature film by J. Harkness as a Writer and Director.